Pale Offerings
by Radiant Shooketh
Summary: The Knight makes some important deliveries.


Delivering this precious pale flower proved no easy task. The slightest movement would cause it to wilt away into nothing but a stem be it through the Knight accidentally taking damage, riding the Stag, or using the Dream Gate. To the Knight's confusion, it could be brought along into the trams without the risk of falling apart. Nonetheless, this little sidequest proved rather frustrating for them, but they eventually brought it to the grave of the Traitor's child carefully. The Knight placed the flower by the foot of the grave gently and watched as the spirit of child give her gratitude as she bowed her head at them. From the grave, the Knight made their way back to the Grey Mourner's quarters in the Resting Grounds.

The Grey Mourner was found hunched forward as always but straightened up as she saw the Knight's return. At first, she had thought they had destroyed the flower once more and would offer them another one. But then she saw that their hands were empty. No signs of the flower anywhere. No broken stem located. She perked up.

"Mi'? Le'mer, you have done this thing? Is it possible? This world's cruelty, I'd thought it overwhelming, but le'mour, such great compassion. That Che's love would know her partner's heart even aeon past. Is it that, Le'mer? Such grief, can end? Che' can end? Ullll, eh nai dear love. Che' too can end."

And lowering her head in eternal gratitude to the little Knight, disappeared in a light, leaving behind a fragment of a mask shard, which the Knight gladly took. After leaving the Grey Mourner's house, they returned to the Queen's Gardens, and back to the grave of the child. Turns out, there were more pale flowers around the grave.

An idea suddenly popped into the Knight's mind.

After some careful deliberation, they placed a Dream Gate by the grave. Picking up one of the flowers, they decided to go on an epic quest to deliver some flowers to the bugs they have met thus far on their journey. The most logical person to give the flower to would be the queen, since she was very closeby. They went to a nearby bench and equipped the Grimmchild charm on. Their help would do doubt would be very useful as they traversed the lands. Some additional protection was always welcome. They exited the room and as they encountered enemies, the Grimmchild would hack up fire in fierce protection to their caretaker. With that, the Knight easily made their way into the Queen's quarters.

The first thing the White Lady noticed aside from the Knight was the fact that there was another creature beside them. "Ahh, that creature beside. It would be naive to claim it friend, though you two share a... similarity? It is a distant link, one words would strain to convey. For it to cling to you now... You've been consumed in the ritual of that scarlet clan. In what poor moment they descend upon our ruin. Aid their propagation, if you so choose, but do not renege on the larger task this kingdom implores."

The knight cast an unsure glance at the Grimmchild as she told them those words. Trying to ignore what she said about the child, they offered the flower to the White Lady.

"Ah, what precious gift it offers, though alas I shan't accept. Not of me that flower, nor of this kingdom. Far it travelled to reach this place, brought by one beloved, fair knight of lands serene. There is rare power hidden in those frail petals. To hold it so close, one must surely be unaware of its nature…"

The Knight felt somewhat disappointed. They had come all this way to the White Lady to offer her a gift, but turned them down. Feeling somewhat rejected, they left her alone in the temple. With the White Lady scratched off the list of candidates the Knight had in mind, they thought of another bug that could potentially accept the gift. Though it would be a pain not using the Stag, the Knight made their way to the City of Tears. After avoiding the many annoying sentry husks that flew aimlessly around the city with their weapons ready, the Knight entered one of the many fancy looking estates. Inside, he could already hear the constant jubilant laughter of Emilitia.

"Ah ha, the little grub returns from their perilous journey." She scoffed at them, looking down at the Knight with arrogance. "What have you there, commoner?"

As a response, the Knight offered her the flower. Although now they were having second thoughts about giving her the flower. She didn't really deserve it, didn't she? She was quite rude and snobby with them.

Emilitia burst into mocking laughter. "What a curious specimen. Hah! Though even its pure aura is no match for the light of our dear King." She calmed down and waved her hand off at the Knight dismissively, sounding insulted. "Keep your faint flora, bug. I've enough of my own to tend and surely you'd agree that mine are far finer."

So much for giving her a flower.

The Knight thought about another person whom they thought were quite worthy of such a gift. From Emilitia's house, they descended down from her house down into the Royal Waterways. He was an honourable bug, one of noble character and humble at heart. With their Grimmchild's protection, the Knight successfully made their way to where they first fought the Dung Defender. They heard his jolly cry as he emerged from the pile of… dung.

"Oh, it's you again. I'm glad to see you return." He smiled at the Knight, though he seemed somewhat sheepish. He looked ashamed, really. "No, no, please... Don't say a word. I must apologise for my previous behaviour. Entirely my fault. I mistook you for one of those mindless skulking husks, yet you bested me in the most majestic knightly fashion."

He sighed. There was a distant look in his eyes. As he spoke, his tone changed into something of sadness and regret. "Such joyful, vigorous combat. I'd almost forgotten the feeling. I was once a Knight you see. By the grace of our good King, I stood proudly before the throne, watching Hallownest swell to greatness. Then that nasty business with the affliction… We knights defend against the physical, but a formless enemy. How to defeat such a foe? Our King tried in his own way. A cruel means it was... And still, eventually, we were brought low. Bah! I shouldn't be so morose. You've invigorated me. 'Tis truly a delight to meet one whose strength can match my own."

The Dung Defender did notice a green tint that sort of illuminated from the Knight's aura. He perked up.

"Ahh! That tear... You've been to her grove!" He exclaimed. "I swore I'd visit, but... my duties... my oath… Oh, I'm sorry. Ignore me, I'm being foolish. If I'm not careful I'll sink down into old memories and won't ever come back again. She's a great judge of character, so if she gave you her blessing you must be something special indeed. I'm barely worthy to be in your presence!"

Once the Knight was sure that the Dung Defender stopped talking, they silently offered him the flower. He looked genuinely surprised, but he took the flower gently as possible in his claws. Seems he was very aware of the flower's nature.

"My friend, you're offering this delicate piece of flora to me? How very thoughtful of you! Judging by this, I want to assume you met her. Mysterious Ze'mer?" After the Knight tilted their head in confusion, the Dung Defender chuckled, staring at the flower as he went on to explain. "One of my old comrades, back in the day. One of the Five Great Knights of Hallownest, Mysterious Ze'mer was indeed very mysterious. From a land far from this kingdom, she explained that these flowers are extremely fragile but hold hidden powers within their petals. What power? That, I am not sure of and Ze'mer never bothered to explain. Maybe she too didn't know the extent of the powers these flowers had? Ah, well. I still remember Ze'mer encouraging me to give a flower to Isma. Some rather fond memories indeed. Thank you, my friend. I was in need of the reminders. It's good to be content during sad times such as this."

The Knight was relieved. This was the first bug to accept their gift. This was good indeed. They bowed their head to the Dung defender and exited his room. He waved goodbye to them, still holding the flower in his claws.

"Go now, mighty warrior of Hallownest! You've proven your honour! Good fortune on the path ahead!" He called out to the Knight.

With one candidate out of the way, the Knight used the Dream Gate to head back to the grave and they picked up another flower. For the next bug, they thought real hard about this and narrowed the choice down to 3 individuals, coming up with some reasons. Nailmasters Mato and Sheo already looked quite content with their life, so they concluded to give a flower to Nailmaster Oro. He always seemed to grumpy, and they thought that maybe a flower would put him in a good mood. From the gardens, the Knight made the perilous journey to kingdom's Edge. the enemies were a lot more dangerous but luckily the Grimmchild was there to protect the Knight when they were busy dodging the onslaught of attacks from the waves of enemies that chased the duo. Thankfully, they arrived outside of the home of Nailmaster Oro. They walked in carefully and when they saw him meditating quietly on the floor, they bowed their head.

"Eh? So, you've returned, though you were not invited. As my pupil, it is lawful that I allow you rest and shelter, but do not stay longer than you need to." He hid his head into his cloak. "Rest here if you must, but do not stay longer than you need to."

But something caught his eyes as he looked back up from his cloak to stare at the Knight. "That charm you bear... It seems the Great Nailsage has deemed you skilled enough in the Nail Arts to earn his highest esteem. I do not begrudge you his love. You have earned it. And perhaps by helping you along your path, I have redeemed myself... if only a little." He sounded somewhat relieved.

After he was done talking, he hid himself back in his cloak. The Knight took out the flower and placed it gently by his feet. His head popped back out from his cloak to look at the flower. He looked almost… insulted.

"What is this? Do you think it becoming for a pupil to drop rubbish in their master's home? Or is this gaudy flower your idea of a gift? I've no use for such things. Take it with you, or else I'll toss it outside to be eaten by vermin." Oro hid himself back into his cloak. He didn't do as he said he was going to do with the flower, so the Knight took that as a win. They left his house and prepared to Dream Gate back to the gardens when they heard shuffling coming from the house.

The Knight stopped and listened curiously. The shuffling soon stopped and there was nothing but silence after that. Feeling curious themselves, they tiptoed into his house to investigate. Nothing had changed: Oro was still silently meditating on the floor. What had changed, then? To answer the Knight's queries, a pale shimmering light behind Oro caught their attention. Just behind him, the pale flower was kept in a vase. The Knight felt happy, and left Oro's house, satisfied. They used their Dream Nail and was back at the gardens.

Deciding to actually be smart this time so they would not have to make back and forth travels, the Knight picked out 4 more flowers to carry within their cloak. And like before, they carefully made their way back to Dirtmouth. The fading town was starting to look a little crowded now, the Knight thought as it looked around the area. Sly's shop was open, and same with Iselda and Cornifer's. Bretta was listening intently to the words of Zote the Mighty, something about 57 precepts. To the very right, there was the house of Confessor Jiji, and to the left…

An interesting group of individuals who travelled. Their red tents were parked along to the very left of town, away from everyone else. The townspeople felt somewhat uncomfortable with their presence there. But they seemed not to worry as the travelling circus hasn't done anything wrong. The fact that the Knight travelled alongside the Grimmchild put everyone at ease a bit. The child was adorable and harmless (sort of) and hovered over the Knight's shell, mewling often. The only one who still seemed tense was Elderbug, so the Knight went over to him. Maybe a flower would put him at ease.

The Knight approached Elderbug, who was less tense than before seeing as the troupe was not doing anything particular out of the blue.

"Ah, welcome back, traveller." He immediately noticed the flower that was in the Knight's hands. "Hm? What's that you have there? Ah! What a beautiful flower! I'd never have guessed by looking, but you have surprisingly good taste in flora. Why are you carrying around such an exquisite bloom? Wait... you didn't...? Ahh! This flower is... is it a gift? For me? Are you really giving me something so precious?"

The Knight nodded its head and offered Elderbug the flower. He took it in his hands carefully. "Ah! I can really have it? My, my... I barely know what to say except... thank you! I'd resigned myself to selflessly giving out advice to passers by, without receiving any gratitude in return. Little did I know, one young bug was taking my words to heart and would repay my kindness. And with such a beautiful gift! Ahh. Suddenly, the world seems a little less faded. Thank you, my friend. I will take care of this flower while you're gone, so we can enjoy it together when you return. This flower you gave me... when dark thoughts creep into my head I gaze at it and think of you. Why not rest at the bench here for a while? We can enjoy the flower together before you head off again."

And that's exactly what the Knight did. They rested on the bench for a bit and together in silence with the Elderbug, the two simply said nothing and appreciated the moment they had together, with Elderbug holding onto the flower. At one point, Grimmchild flew over and curled themselves up on the Knight's lap and closed its eyes. After a while, the Knight stood up. Grimmchild awakened and resumed hovering near the Knight's head and continued mewling.

Elderbug looked genuinely happy. "Thank you, friend. This was splendid."

The Knight nodded their head and headed left towards the scarlet tents. They had 3 more flowers to deliver. They first entered the smaller tent, and looked as Divine started cackling as soon as they entered.

"Little lovely, I smell something exquisite. What is that you've got there?" The Knight took out the flower and for once, Divine looked surprised. She stopped cackling as the Knight offered her the flower. "Little lovely, is that a gift for me?"

The Knight nodded its head and held out the flower to her. She took it carefully into her pincers and stared at it. For once in her life, this was a gift Divine was glad to receive. She smiled at them. "Thank you for the kind gesture, little lovely."

The Knight nodded its head once more and made their way towards the main tent beside Divine's. Inside, they found Brumm playing on his accordion as usual. They went up to him and looked up at him expectantly. He stopped playing his instrument to address them.

"Mrmm, is this about the Ritual? For that, you are to consult with the Master. Did you gather up the flames like he asked?" Brumm asked them. To be completely honest, the Knight almost forgot about the flames. They collected 2 so far, and they have yet to collect the last one from the Hive, according to their map. The Knight shook its head.

They took out the flower and presented it to Brumm, who only stared at them. After a while, he gently took the flower from them. "...Mrmm, thank you. You shouldn't have, really. Now, I really must be going."

They watched as Brumm left his accordion on the ground and exited the tent. Now, there was just one more person to give the flower to, though the Knight wasn't sure if they could speak with him if it wasn't about the Ritual. They walked to the centre of room and waited. Surprisingly, the troupe master himself appeared before them in a puff of smoke.

"Greetings, my friend. I can already tell you are not here about the Ritual. I do not yet feel the complete essence from the flames. You've collected a few, but not all just yet," Grimm said. He smiled when he saw his child perched affectionately on top of the Knight's shell. "What brings you here then?"

The Knight suddenly felt nervous as they tried to conceal the flower behind them. Should they gather up the last flames before giving him the flower? Well, there wasn't any time to think about that as Grimm had already spotted the flower behind them.

"What is that behind you?" He questioned, and very hesitantly the Knight took the flower out and held it in their small hands. Grimm's eyes lit up with interest. "An exquisite flower you have there, my friend! But why did you bring it here, of all places?"

Gathering up their courage, the Knight held it out to Grimm. His eyes widened and he pointed to himself in surprise. "You brought that flower here as a gift for me? My friend, you really should not have! What made you consider that?"

The Knight insistently held out the flower to him, shaking it as gently as they could. They were serious, Grimm thought. He sighed, taking the precious flower in his hands. "My friend, you've rendered me quite speechless…" He laughed incredulously. Why would a Vessel gift him this? He didn't do anything for them, and yet… Grimm felt touched by their kindness.

"If there is anything I can do for you, my friend... You can tell me, alright? I'd be willing to do you any favours. Just inform me of such, and I'll see what I can do."

The Knight thought that was fair, and so they did request one thing from Grimm. Trying to explain without words, they tried to gesticulate to the troupe master that they were very tired from their journey across the kingdom gathering flames for his child and giving out flowers to people and request to have a small nap.

Grimm chuckled in amusement. "Why would you need to ask permission from me to have a nap? By all means, my friend…"

The Knight shook his head, and Grimm could only look at the Knight in confusion. To make it somewhat more clear, they made the gesture of shivering and hugging their body. After that, they put their small hand on Grimm's leg. Apparently, the troupe were quite warm beings, literally. Grimm's entire body was quite warm, and cozy. Even Grimm started to understand what the Knight was trying to convey.

"Ah, I see… Very well then. Just for you, my friend."

Grimm picked the Knight up and lead him to his quarters, his child following them. Once they were there, he allowed for the Knight to curl up on his lap and they immediately closed their eyes. The poor thing dozed off rather quickly. They must have been exhausted. The Grimmchild entered his quarters and seeing their caretaker fast asleep, also joined by curling on top of their shell and also quickly falling asleep. The sight was rather amusing and endearing to Grimm. He placed the duo on top of his cape so that it would be extra comfy for them both.

Eventually, all 3 of them were fast asleep in each other's embrace.


End file.
